Password-protect a folder

Sometimes part of a website is not for everyone: a members' download area, a page for staff, or a new site you are still building. A password-protected folder makes the browser ask for a user name and password before it shows anything inside that folder.

Before you start#

• Add the website in the panel.
• Know the folder you want to protect, as it appears in the web address. For example, https://acme.in/private/ is the folder /private/.

Protect a folder#

1. Open Security. In the panel menu, under Websites, choose Security, then find Password-protected folders.
2. Enter the folder, for example /private/. Enter / to protect the whole website.
3. Write the prompt text. This is the short message the browser shows in the sign-in box, for example Staff area.
4. Add a user name and password. The password must be at least 10 characters.
5. Save. From now on, anyone opening that folder is asked to sign in.

FiniteHost stores the password only as a one-way hash, so nobody can read it back, including our team. Keep a copy in your password manager.

Add or remove people#

• Add another user to the same folder for each person who needs access, so you can remove one person later without changing everyone's password. A folder can have up to 10 users.
• Remove a user to stop that person signing in.
• Unprotect the folder to remove the password prompt completely.

Each website can have up to 10 protected folders.

Troubleshooting#

• The browser keeps asking for the password: check the user name and password, and mind capital letters in the password. If you have forgotten a password, remove that user and add it again with a new password.
• The password is refused when saving: it is shorter than 10 characters.
• The rest of the site is also protected: you protected / instead of a folder. Unprotect / and protect the folder instead.

What's next#

• Website security
• Redirects and alias domains
• Use the File manager